The St. Andrew's Pulpit

Rev. Mervin Gallant

January 9, 2011

CHILD OF GOD = SUFFERING SERVANT ??

Has anyone else noticed how many businesses are blessing us by providing the product or service that will ensure the successful accomplishment of our New Year's goals? From fitness programs to new trucks these advertisers claim to know what we need to be complete as human beings, what will make us feel good about ourselves and what will add meaning to our lives. It's as if they have our identity pegged and it's hanging squarely on the hook of consumerism. And all too often in our society folks buy into that definition as if we can buy our happiness and find our purpose in our possessions.

Yet intellectually and deep down in our hearts we know that would be a very shallow existence if it were true. The commercialization of Christmas that makes the season we have just come through the make or break period of the whole year for many retailers is but one example of how commerce and material wealth tries to trump the deepest meanings of life. Yet as we face the letdown of having to pack away all the decorations at the end of the holiday; face the music of any overspending we may have engaged in; and contend with the emotional drain of the extra darkness at this time of year, we cannot deny a longing for something more - a something that can't be satisfied with the swipe of a debit card or the attaining of another toy.

It is just such a place of depth that we enter into as we look at the story of Jesus' baptism. From this past Thursday, January 6, that marked the celebration of Epiphany and the visit of the magi to Jesus' childhood home we make a leap of about 30 years to an adult Jesus coming to John the Baptist to participate in his baptism for the forgiveness of sin. Much ink has been spilt over the centuries trying to figure out why Jesus would want to participate in such a baptism but for today we will set that debate aside - even as this morning the celebration of Liam and Lindsey's baptisms were not an exercise in discerning their need of forgiveness nor were the questions we asked a test of worthiness.

Rather baptism is a choosing of identity - a choosing to identify with a God who responds with a gift not of material value but with the acceptance of a parent who bestows a spirit of life and blessing of being a beloved child that changes life and gives it purpose in surprising and extraordinary ways. For Jesus it ushered in a movement from whatever he had been doing through his youth and early adult years to a ministry that changed not only his life and those of biblical record who chose to follow him but all those who have built the Christian church and followed his way for over 2000 years.

So the first gift of baptism is one of meeting our deep need for belonging. We are accepted with Jesus as beloved children of God and as a child of God knowing that God is pleased with us not for what we have done or earned or otherwise accomplished but just because God delights in our being alive. There's no need to put on a show about how cool you are or about how much stuff you can afford or about how important your friends are because as a child of God you can know you are accepted for who you are - nothing more and nothing less. Being filled with the Spirit of God fills us with all that we need to meet each day, come what may - and no amount of money can buy that kind of gift.

To stop at this point however, while meeting our need for belonging, would not clarify our purpose for being or fulfill our longing for meaning. In Jesus' baptism the words uttered by the voice from heaven draw on the words in our passage from Isaiah.

As I already said, Jesus' baptism is about his identity and I believe Matthew is drawing us to reflect on how Jesus' identity embraces the "Suffering Servant" identity as it has become known in Isaiah. In particular, following the thinking of Paul Hanson in "Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching", the justice and truth the Servant brings is a compassionate justice of God for the universe. So whether the Servant is Jesus, the nation of Israel, or the individuals who claim allegiance to either Jesus or the Jewish faith - the call is to live out of this compassionate justice of God in how we treat each other and the earth.

As Paul Hanson puts it: "The Servant does not cry out when oppressed, does not move through the streets calling for pity, does not push aside the weak in the hope of winning conventional power to his cause. The Servant, rather, bears witness with quiet, patient gentleness, confident that the nations will be drawn to God's reign of justice not by dint of human force but by attraction to embodied compassion and righteousness. The source of that attraction is not within the Servant but points to the reality that transcends all flesh. To live consistently in the service of the justice of God is to pattern one's life on the nature of God. Only in this way is a mortal empowered faithfully to bring forth justice."

Could it be that our true identity can only be found as we embrace these two aspects of our baptism? By taking up our role in the community of God's chosen children, beloved by God and supported by our brothers and sisters in Christ, we realize we are not alone - the value of our lives is within us and not in what we possess. And from that place of being loved and valued we can find both the strength and vision to humbly reach out to others to share that same love with those who are struggling with their own sense of loneliness or suffering from their own particular experience of oppression.

I heard a story of CBC's The National Friday night. It was about the work of Dr. Chandrasekhar Sankurathri (Dr. Chandra) a Canadian working in a very poor area of India. The story did not give any indication of Dr. Chandra's religious affiliation but as I listened, I heard a very Christ-like example of what embracing our baptism could look like - even if in more modest situations.

Dr. Chandra lost his wife and two children in the Air India bombing of 1985. As he worked through his grief, he quit his job in British Columbia and moved to a poor area of India where he opened a primary school for the poorest children who would not likely get an education otherwise and later an eye hospital that is free for the poor. Listening to the kids dreams Dr. Chandra realized the need for a high school and a vocational institute for the parents so they could sustain their families. He now has students who are doctors, engineers, teachers and more.

That not being enough, Dr. Chandra drives around the community finding other crises that need to be averted. Currently he is seeking ways to deal with Malaria and dengue fever by cleaning up the pools of water where mosquitos grow - he takes the attitude that nothing is impossible.

This is his message for the terrorists who killed his family: "They should know that several good things can come out of their acts too. Because their mission is only to destroy - mindlessly, aimlessly (right?) - so if they know some good things are coming out of their terrorist activities, maybe they won't do it - I hope so."

However Dr. Chandra may have come to this understanding and way of living out his life, I believe his example is holds up a shining illustration of what living out our identities as children of God and suffering servants could look like. Our specific lives may not take us to a distant land but how we choose to live our lives amongst the people of our own communities can make an amazing difference if we choose to live from a place of baptismal faith. Knowing that we are accepted and loved gives us the confidence we need to humbly approach life with the purpose of sharing compassionate justice with all persons and wit creation itself - may it be so. Amen.